


The Causality Loop

by SkylandMountain1013



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Shits about to get angsty isn’t it, post 5x08, season 5, why do we watch this show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 21:50:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13444110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylandMountain1013/pseuds/SkylandMountain1013
Summary: you let him go so you can save each other





	The Causality Loop

**Author's Note:**

> This just rattled in my head until I had to let it out. 
> 
> Post 5x08 ficlet. I think we’re in for a bumpy ride, friends.

It’s a few hours before she can get somewhere to process the events of the day.

The ebb and flow of this timeline are darkly fascinating to her. She sat for days as a prisoner of Kasius, nothing moving forward- and now? In the span of what feels like mere moments she’s had the relief of being reunited with her team, the euphoria of seeing Phil, the shock and wonder of Robin’s revelation (a mother), and the gravity of the task ahead of them.

Robin’s final instructions tumble around in her brain.

_Flint is the glue_

_You let him go so you can save each other_

She’s heard about Flint from the team- the boy with the power to control rocks. How he was saved, how Mack and Elena have taken him under their wing, how maybe he can fix this all.

It’s the second statement that sits deep in her stomach.

She won’t let anyone go again. Not after everything. She will fight and fly and sacrifice to ensure that doesn’t happen.

The door creaks open and she knows it’s Phil before she sees him.

“Hey.” His voice is soft and his eyes are softer. She automatically makes room for him next to her. “You holding up okay?”

Her fingers drift to a wayward piece of lint on his chest. She knows she doesn’t want to lie to him- not anymore- but there is no easy answer to this question.

“Most people have trouble reconciling all the choices they made in their lifetime.” She slides her hand further inside his coat, fingers curling around his heartbeat. “I have three lifetimes now.”

Phil hums low in his throat and she feels his knee rest against hers. It’s comfortable. “Do you think you gave her peace? At the end?”

Melinda nods slowly. “I do.” She tries to imagine what it was like- raising her in this world, protecting her from it all. “Was it enough though?”

His words are deliberate and warm. “You saved her in this timeline. And you’re going to make sure you give her a future in ours.”

Her hand drops from his jacket and intertwines with his. “It’s a lot to come to terms with.”

Phil shifts, wrapping an arm around her. She doesn’t hesitate to rest her head against his shoulder.

“You’ve got a bigger heart than most,” he says, and she feels him drop a light kiss into her hair.

She lets out a soft chuckle. “I think I said that about you once.”

“They do say imitation is the best form of flattery.”

Silence falls comfortably around them. It’s funny, she thinks, that a dystopian hellscape is where she’s mended a broken piece of her soul.

Robin’s words continue to gnaw at her though, and she forces herself out of the embrace.

“What about you? What have you figured out?” she asks.

He sighs and rubs his hands over his face. “I don’t know. Fitzsimmons found a piece of the monolith. I’d imagine that’s a key to something. If Flint is so important, I’ll have to get back to the Lighthouse.”

_You let him go so you can save each other_

“Do you think that gets us home?”

“Flint can’t do it by himself. He’ll need help.”

She notices him focus his gaze on the wall past her.

_You let him go_

“We’ve got Deke. Deke can hold his own in there,” she tries to rationalize. She can’t quite place the panic rising in her.

_Let him go_

The realization hits her like a ton of bricks.

“We can’t trust Deke. I’m the one who has to-“

“You’re going to-“

“Stay,” they finish in unison.

When Phil looks back in her direction his eyes are bright with tears.

“No,” she protests, even though she knows he’s right.

“It’s the only way this works, Melinda.” His voice is cracking and she cannot watch him break. Not today.

She stands up. “Then I stay too.”

Phil shakes his head and rises to meet her. He rests one hand on her shoulder, the other one reaching to brush away a tear she doesn’t realize she let escape.

He speaks softly, with a sad smile. “You need to be the one to save the world. _Our_ world.”

“And what if it doesn’t work? I just resign myself to living in a timeline without you? Because that’s not an option, Phil.” She feels anger, she feels determination, she feels sadness, she feels _love_.

The adrenaline already coursing through her veins increases as Phil steps even closer.

“I have to believe it’ll work.” His voice is barely a whisper now. “We have to make it work. For the world, for our team, for us.”

_You let him go so you can save each other_

There’s so much that still doesn’t make sense.

Phil is staring at her with an intensity she should look away from.

She doesn’t.

_You can save each other_

He murmurs her name, and it grounds her amongst uncertain futures.

_Save each other_

She kisses him, and moves their timeline forward.

They both hope it will be enough.

 

 

 

 


End file.
